By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With a Winter Storm Watch already in effect for Reno County, Reno County Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar wants to remind the public of the need to plan ahead for the upcoming snow.
"This is a planned event," Weishaar said. "It shouldn't take any of us by surprise. Some of the things we encourage people to do is stock up their pantries, stock up on their dry food items. Plan to have some bottled water and that kind of stuff, prescriptions and hygiene items, then build your emergency kit. Another thing people seem to forget about from time to time, is be sure their vehicle is filled up with gas."
Also, be more vigilant about keeping communication devices charged.
"Make sure that your cell phone is charged," Weishaar said. "I know that everyone has a bad habit of letting their cell phone go dead throughout the day, but maybe Tuesday it would be a good idea to start plugging it in where you are sitting at your desk, or sitting at home to make sure that if there's a power outage, you will have that cell service."
Depending on whether we get ice or snow, the amount of time it could take to get back to normal may be different.
"I'm more concerned about an icing event that could happen before the snow," Weishaar said. "If it's an icing event, it could be a week. If it's just snow that we receive, I usually say that within about 24 hours after the snow ends, we're back to normal being able to travel where we need to go, at least locally. You should be ready to hunker down at least for a couple of days, if necessary."
The National Weather Service is currently predicting this as mostly a snow event for Reno County.